A Timeline of the Suez Crisis

Learn what events lead to the Suez Crisis, which was an invasion of  Egypt  in late 1956. 1922 Feb 28:  Egypt is declared a sovereign state by Britain.Mar 15:  Sultan Faud appoints himself King of Egypt.Mar 16:  Egypt achieves  independence.May 7:  Britain is  angered over Egyptian claims to sovereignty over Sudan. 1936 Apr 28:  Ã‚  Faud dies and his 16-year-old son, Farouk, becomes King of Egypt.Aug 26:  Draft of Anglo-Egyptian Treaty is signed. Britain is allowed to maintain a garrison of 10,000 men in the  Suez Canal Zone and is given effective control of Sudan. 1939 May 2:  King Farouk is declared the spiritual leader, or Caliph, of Islam. 1945 Sept 23:  Egyptian government demands complete British withdrawal and the cession of Sudan. 1946 May 24:  British premier  Winston Churchill  says the Suez Canal will be in danger if Britain withdraws from Egypt. 1948 May 14:  Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel by David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv.May 15:  Start of the first Arab-Israeli War.Dec 28:  Egyptian premier Mahmoud Fatimy is assassinated by the  Muslim Brotherhood.Feb 12:  Hassan el Banna, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood is assassinated. 1950 Jan 3:  Wafd party regains power. 1951 Oct 8:  Egyptian government announces that it will eject Britain from the Suez Canal Zone and take control of Sudan.Oct 21:  British warships arrive at Port Said, more troops are on the way. 1952 Jan 26:  Egypt is placed under martial law in response to wide-spread riots against the British.Jan 27:  Prime Minister Mustafa Nahhas is removed by King Farouk for failing to keep the peace. He is replaced by Ali Mahir.Mar 1:  The Egyptian Parliament is suspended by King Farouk when Ali Mahir resigns.May 6:  King Farouk claims to be a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed.July 1:  Hussein Sirry is new premier.July 23:  Free Officer Movement, fearing King Farouk is about to move against them, initiate a military coup.July 26:  Military coup is successful, General Naguib appoints Ali Mahir as prime minister.Sept 7:  Ali Mahir again resigns. General Naguib takes over the post of president, prime minister, minister of war and commander-in-chief of the army. 1953 Jan 16:  President Naguib disbands all opposition parties.Feb 12:  Britain and Egypt sign a new treaty. Sudan to have independence within three years.May 5:  Constitutional commission recommends 5,000-year-old monarchy be ended and Egypt become a republic.May 11:  Britain threatens  to use force against Egypt over the Suez Canal dispute.June 18:  Egypt becomes a republic.Sept 20:  Several of King Farouks aides are seized. 1954 Feb 28:  Nasser challenges President Naguib.Mar 9:  Naguib beats off Nassers challenge and retains the presidency.Mar 29:  General Naguib postpones plans to hold parliamentary elections.Apr 18:  For a second time, Nasser takes the presidency away from Naguib.Oct 19:  Britain cedes Suez Canal to Egypt in new treaty, two year period set for withdrawal.Oct 26:  Muslim Brotherhood attempt to assassinate General Nasser.Nov 13:  General Nasser in full control of Egypt. 1955 Apr 27:  Egypt announces plans to sell cotton to Communist ChinaMay 21:  USSR announces it will sell arms to Egypt.Aug 29:  Israeli and Egyptian jets in fire-fight over Gaza.Sept 27:  Egypt makes deal with Czechoslovakia -- arms for cotton.Oct 16:  Egyptian and Israeli forces skirmish in El Auja.Dec 3:  Britain and Egypt sign agreement granting Sudan independence. 1956 Jan 1:  Sudan achieves independence.Jan 16:  Islam is made state religion by act of Egyptian government.June 13:  Britain gives  up Suez Canal. Ends 72 years of British occupation.June 23:  General Nasser is elected president.July 19:  US withdraws financial aid for Aswan Dam project. The official reason is Egypts increased ties to USSR.July 26:  President Nasser announces a plan to nationalize Suez Canal.July 28:  Britain freezes Egyptian assets.July 30:  British Prime Minister Anthony Eden imposes an arms embargo on Egypt, and informs General Nasser that he can not have the Suez Canal.Aug 1:  Britain, France, and the US hold talks on escalating the Suez crisis.Aug 2:  Britain mobilizes armed forces.Aug 21:  Egypt says it will negotiate on Suez ownership if Britain pulls out of the Middle East.Aug 23:  USSR announces it will send troops if Egypt is attacked.Aug 26:  General Nasser agrees to five nation conference on Suez Canal.Aug 28:  Two British envoy s are expelled from Egypt accused of spying.Sept 5:  Israel condemns Egypt over Suez crisis.Sept 9:  Conference talks collapse when General Nasser refuses to allow international control of the Suez Canal.Sept 12:  US, Britain, and France announce their intention to impose a Canal Users Association on the management of the canal.Sept 14:  Egypt now in full control of the Suez Canal.Sept 15:  Soviet ship-pilots arrive to help Egypt run the canal.Oct 1:  A 15 nation Suez Canal Users Association is officially formed.Oct 7:  Israeli foreign minister Golda Meir says the UN failure to resolve the Suez Crisis means they must take military action.Oct 13:  Anglo-French proposal for the control of the Suez Canal is vetoed by the USSR during the UN session.Oct 29:  Israel invades  the Sinai Peninsula.Oct 30:  Britain and France veto USSR demand for Israel-Egypt cease-fire.Nov 2:  UN Assembly finally approves a cease-fire plan for Suez.Nov 5:  British and French forcesà ‚  involved in the airborne invasion of Egypt.Nov 7:  UN  Assembly votes 65 to 1 that invading powers should quit Egyptian territory.Nov 25:  Egypt begins to expel British, French, and Zionist residents.Nov 29:  Tripartite Invasion  is officially ended under pressure from UN.Dec 20:  Israel refuses to return Gaza to Egypt.Dec 24:  British and French troops depart Egypt.Dec 27: 5,580 Egyptian POWs exchanged for four Israelis.Dec 28:  Operation to clear sunken ship in Suez Canal starts. 1957 Jan 15:  British and French banks in Egypt are nationalized.Mar 7:  UN  takes over the administration of the Gaza Strip.Mar 15:  General Nasser bars Israeli shipping from Suez Canal.Apr 19:  First British ship pays Egyptian toll for use of the Suez Canal.